Marco Polo is now one of the most famous people in Europe, and with good reason.
His book, The Travels of Marco Polo, is a bestseller as the only written record of the eastern world right now. However, as the world looks at Marco Polo now, we here have taken a look back, from when Marco was only a child.
Marco Polo began his life at 1254, born to a wealthy family on Venetain jewel traders. Unfortunatly for young Marco, his mother died when he was young, and his father, Niccolo, and his uncle, Maffelo, were both in Asia for much of his childhood. So yong Marco Polo grew up in an extended family as a child.
When Marco's uncle and father made the trip back from China, they also brought with them the wishes of Kublai Khan, who wanted 100 priests and holy water to learn more about Christanity.
In 1271, Niccolo and Maffelo both returned to China, but this time with Marco Polo, who was
now at the age of 17. They were unable to get the 100 priests that Khan wanted, but instead
only had two priests arrive for them on the jouney. However, when they discovered how hard the journey was, they left. This left the three Marcos to do the joueny alone.
Teenage Marco Polo was exceptionally good at remembering the places and culture he visted, able to desrcibe the places he visted with exceptional detail. He would later on make these into his travel book,
The Travels of Marco Polo
His Beginngs